Mr. Lautenberg (for
himself, Mr. Whitehouse,
Mr. Menendez, Mrs. Boxer, Ms.
Klobuchar, and Mr. Merkley)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Environment and Public
Works

April 20, 2010

Reported by Mrs. Boxer,
without amendment

A BILL

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to
ensure that sewage treatment plants monitor for and report discharges of raw
sewage, and for other purposes.

1.

Short
title

This Act may be cited as
the Sewage Overflow Community
Right-to-Know Act.

2.

Definitions

Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362) is amended by adding at the end the
following:

(26)

Treatment
works

The term treatment works has the meaning given
the term in section
212.

.

3.

Monitoring,
reporting, and public notification of sewer overflows

Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) is amended by adding at the end the
following:

(s)

Sewer overflow
monitoring, reporting, and notifications

(1)

Definitions

In
this subsection:

(A)

Sanitary sewer
overflow

(i)

In
general

The term sanitary sewer overflow means an
overflow, spill, release, or diversion of wastewater from a sanitary sewer
system.

(ii)

Inclusions

The
term sanitary sewer overflow includes—

(I)

overflows or
releases of wastewater that reach waters of the United States;

(II)

overflows or
releases of wastewater in the United States that do not reach waters of the
United States; and

(III)

wastewater
backups into buildings that are caused by blockages or flow conditions in a
sanitary sewer other than a building lateral.

(iii)

Exclusions

The
term sanitary sewer overflow does not include—

(I)

municipal
combined sewer overflows or other discharges from the combined portion of a
municipal combined storm and sanitary sewer system; or

(II)

wastewater
backups into buildings caused by a blockage or other malfunction of a building
lateral that is privately owned.

(B)

Sewer
overflow

The term sewer overflow means a sanitary
sewer overflow or a municipal combined sewer overflow.

(C)

Single-family
residence

(i)

In
general

The term single-family residence means an
individual dwelling unit.

(ii)

Inclusions

The
term single-family residence includes—

(I)

an
apartment;

(II)

a
condominium;

(III)

a house;
and

(IV)

a
dormitory.

(iii)

Exclusions

The
term single-family residence does not include the common areas of
a multidwelling structure.

(2)

General
requirements

After the last day of the 180-day period beginning
on the date on which regulations are promulgated under paragraph (5), a permit
issued, renewed, or modified under this section by the Administrator or the
State, as the case may be, for a publicly owned treatment works shall require,
at a minimum, beginning on the date of the issuance, modification, or renewal,
that the owner or operator of the treatment works—

(A)

institute and
utilize a feasible methodology, technology, or management program for
monitoring sewer overflows to alert the owner or operator to the occurrence of
a sewer overflow in a timely manner;

(B)

in the case of a
sewer overflow that has the potential to affect human health, notify the public
of the overflow as soon as practicable but not later than 24 hours after the
time the owner or operator knows of the overflow;

(C)

in the case of a
sewer overflow that may imminently and substantially endanger human health,
notify public health authorities and other affected entities, such as public
water systems, of the overflow immediately after the owner or operator knows of
the overflow;

(D)

report each sewer
overflow on the discharge monitoring report of the owner or operator to the
Administrator or the State, as the case may be, by describing—

(i)

the magnitude,
duration, and suspected cause of the overflow;

(ii)

the steps taken
or planned to reduce, eliminate, or prevent recurrence of the overflow;
and

(iii)

the steps taken
or planned to mitigate the impact of the overflow; and

(E)

annually report
to the Administrator or the State, as the case may be, the total number of
sewer overflows in a calendar year, including—

(i)

the details of
how much wastewater was released per incident;

(ii)

the duration of
each sewer overflow;

(iii)

the location of
the overflow and any potentially affected receiving waters;

(iv)

the responses
taken to clean up the overflow; and

(v)

the actions taken
to mitigate impacts and avoid further sewer overflows at the site.

(3)

Exceptions

(A)

Notification
requirements

The notification requirements of subparagraphs (B)
and (C) of paragraph (2) shall not apply to a sewer overflow that is a
wastewater backup into a single-family residence.

(B)

Reporting
requirements

The reporting requirements of subparagraphs (D) and
(E) of paragraph (2) shall not apply to a sewer overflow that is a release of
wastewater that occurs in the course of maintenance of the treatment works, is
managed consistently with the treatment works’ best management practices, and
is intended to prevent sewer overflows.

(4)

Report to
EPA

Each State shall provide to the Administrator annually a
summary of sewer overflows that occurred in the State.

(5)

Rulemaking by
EPA

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
subsection, the Administrator, after providing notice and an opportunity for
public comment, shall promulgate regulations to implement this subsection,
including regulations—

(A)

to establish a
set of criteria to guide the owner or operator of a publicly owned treatment
works in—

(i)

assessing whether
a sewer overflow may imminently and substantially endanger human health;
and

(ii)

developing
communication measures that are sufficient to give notice under subparagraphs
(B) and (C) of paragraph (2); and

(B)

to define the
terms feasible and timely as those terms apply to
paragraph (2)(A), including site specific conditions.

(6)

Approval of
State notification programs

(A)

Requests for
approval

(i)

In
general

After the date of promulgation of regulations under
paragraph (5), a State may submit to the Administrator evidence that the State
has in place a legally enforceable notification program that is substantially
equivalent to the requirements of subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph
(2).

(ii)

Program review
and authorization

If the evidence submitted by a State under
clause (i) shows the notification program of the State to be substantially
equivalent to the requirements of subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (2),
the Administrator shall authorize the State to carry out that program instead
of those requirements.

(iii)

Factors for
determining substantial equivalency

In carrying out a review of a
State notification program under clause (ii), the Administrator shall take into
account—

(I)

the scope of
sewer overflows for which notification is required;

(II)

the length of
time during which notification must be made;

(III)

the scope of
persons that must be notified of sewer overflows;

(IV)

the scope of
enforcement activities ensuring that notifications of sewer overflows are made;
and

(V)

such other
factors as the Administrator considers to be appropriate.

(B)

Review
period

If a State submits evidence with respect to a notification
program under subparagraph (A)(i) on or before the last day of the 30-day
period beginning on the date of promulgation of regulations under paragraph
(5), the requirements of subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (2) shall not
begin to apply to a publicly owned treatment works located in the State until
the date on which the Administrator completes a review of the notification
program under subparagraph (A)(ii).

(C)

Withdrawal of
authorization

If the Administrator, after conducting a public
hearing, determines that a State is not administering and enforcing a State
notification program authorized under subparagraph (A)(ii) in accordance with
the requirements of this paragraph, the Administrator shall so notify the State
and, if appropriate corrective action is not taken within a reasonable time,
not to exceed 90 days, the Administrator shall withdraw authorization of such
program and enforce the requirements of subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph
(2) with respect to the State.

(7)

Special rules
concerning application of notification requirements

After the
last day of the 30-day period beginning on the date of promulgation of
regulations under paragraph (5), the requirements of subparagraphs (B) and (C)
of paragraph (2) shall—

(A)

apply to the
owner or operator of a publicly owned treatment works and be subject to
enforcement under section 309; and

(B)

supersede any
notification requirements contained in a permit issued under this section for
the treatment works to the extent that the notification requirements are less
stringent than the notification requirements of subparagraphs (B) and (C) of
paragraph (2), until such date as a permit is issued, renewed, or modified
under this section for the treatment works in accordance with paragraph
(2).

.

4.

Eligibility for
assistance

(a)

Purpose of
State revolving fund

Section
601(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381(a)) is
amended—

(1)

by striking
and the first place it appears; and

(2)

by inserting
after section 320 the following: , and (4) for the
implementation of requirements to monitor for sewer overflows under section
402.

(b)

Water pollution
control revolving loan funds

Section 603(c) of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(c)) is amended—

(1)

by striking
and the first place it appears; and

(2)

by inserting
after section 320 of this Act the following: , and (4)
for the implementation of requirements to monitor for sewer overflows under
section 402.

5.

Effect of
Act

Nothing in this Act or an
amendment made by this Act—

(1)

limits the ability of any State to
implement or enforce a more stringent monitoring or notification standard than
the applicable standard under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33
U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); or

(2)

authorizes any sewer overflow, or supplants
or diminishes any obligation to comply with any other requirement under this
chapter or any other Federal or State law.